10 questions with Mike Reynosa

Sunday

Apr 21, 2013 at 12:01 AM

STOCKTON - In May 2012, the City Council approved Stockton Police Chief Eric Jones' request for $77,760 to form a Community Response Team, a unit tasked with targeting "hot spots" in the city's fight against gun and gang violence. Jones appointed Lts. Mike Reynosa and Lee Kissell to oversee two 11-officer teams, drawing on their experiences with gangs and street crimes.

Jason Anderson

STOCKTON - In May 2012, the City Council approved Stockton Police Chief Eric Jones' request for $77,760 to form a Community Response Team, a unit tasked with targeting "hot spots" in the city's fight against gun and gang violence. Jones appointed Lts. Mike Reynosa and Lee Kissell to oversee two 11-officer teams, drawing on their experiences with gangs and street crimes.

The CRT was launched a month later and made one of its first big busts on June 17, when officers apprehended Andres Andrade, a 24-year-old documented gang member. Andrade was arrested after police found him in possession of a loaded handgun, a rifle, two shotguns and large quantities of ammunition and methamphetamine.

Days later, the CRT identified 19-year-old Bobby Suriyan, another documented gang member, as the person responsible for a shooting that killed one man and wounded another on Santa Paula Way. Suriyan was arrested about 11 hours after the shooting.

Reynosa, a 21-year veteran of the Stockton Police Department and a father of four children whose ages range from 6 to 20, took time out of his busy personal and professional schedule to answer 10 Questions.

Question: What do you like to do when you're off duty?

Answer: Definitely putting in time with my wife and kids, and going to their baseball games and soccer games and stuff. Our life, basically, is our kids.

Q: What is the Community Response Team's role in the overall policing strategy?

A: The chief has assigned us to violent crime, gangs and guns. That's our main focus, so that's pretty much what we target and what we strive to do every day, to stay as narrowly focused on that problem as we can.

Q: How would you describe the Community Response Team's impact after nearly one year in existence?

A: We are seeing high numbers as far as arrests for guns and violent crime. I wouldn't try to take credit for that because I think it's communitywide and departmentwide, but we have to be doing something right.

Q: The Community Response Team was formed about the same time as the multiagency countywide gang task force, and often both units are involved in apprehending violent criminals in Stockton. How do these two teams work together to make the streets safer?

A: I think it's the expertise and the information sharing that helps us so much. The county guys are getting information out of the jails that we can't even touch. They're telling us who's hanging out together, who's fighting with each other, who's talking and who's not talking when they're in jail. We're getting a ton of information from them, and they're bringing that information to the streets.

Q: Is there a sense in the police force that the city is getting safer?

A: We really think so. We know our homicide rate is down and our violent crime rate is down, but beyond that, because of the CRT and the gang task force, there are so many of us that flood these neighborhoods. We definitely see a difference, and the streets get really quiet when we get into an area.

Q: One of the goals Jones established for the Community Response Team was to reach out to residents in troubled neighborhoods in order to gain their trust. How do you go about doing that?

A: First, they assigned us to monthly community meetings with different groups in different neighborhoods, and that's how we're getting a lot of our information. There are nine different meetings a month that we attend, and people will tell us what their main complaints are. I think that's how we're bridging the gap because they see our faces every month.

Q: The Community Response Team is made up of two 11-officer teams. Are those numbers optimal?

A: I think we're at a good number now. Sometimes if you get teams that are too big, you lose communication and you lose focus on what you're doing. These smaller teams, when they work well together, can accomplish a whole lot, so I would say you don't want this to get too big. I think a lot of us agree that these are good numbers and we're picking up some momentum.

Q: How has the Stockton Police Department changed since Jones took command in March 2012?

A: Communication, hands down, is the biggest thing. We went through a period for a few years where there was no communication. There was definitely a leadership problem there. Chief Jones has been really open. He has meetings with all of his staff, from management to the sergeants to the officers. We may not like everything we hear, but at least we know where we're going. It's almost like a black cloud has been lifted off our heads and we can really get to work.

Q: Has morale improved?

A: I think it has. We still are going through the bankruptcy and everyone's pay has been cut. Benefits have been cut and we're paying more for medical, but we get it. That's the environment we're in and that's what we're living with, but morale is up because communication is better and we're treated well. We're treated like adults and we're allowed to do the job we need to do.

Q: What are your goals for the Community Response Team in Year Two?

A: We had a big meeting last month. We talked about where we are and where we're headed and what we're doing. We're going to keep plugging along with the game plan we have now to target specific groups, specific offenders and violent crime. We're going to keep doing what we're doing, but our chief has made it clear that it's definitely something that's going to be flexible if we need it to be.